Motorcycle And Sweetgrass Analysis

​“Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder,” the title of the novel says it all. Renowned author Kent Nerburn draws us deep into the world of a Lakota elder set in the majestic spaces of the western Dakotas. As the story unfolds, the elder known as only, Dan, speaks ardently about the power of silence and the difference between land and property. Dan speaks about the white people’s urge to claim the Indian heritage. This novel is enjoyable and buoyant story of the fathers and sons of the Dakotas, which gives a light feel on a rather heavy subject matter.

Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.

“Bruises fade, but the pain lasts forever” (Christina Kelly). This compelling quote depicts the horrifying side effects of abuse. In the gripping novel titled “Indian Horse,” author Richard Wagamese successfully informs readers about the severely unfair conditions in which the Native Indians were treated. Through Saul’s terrifying experiences in the Residential school and hockey tournaments, readers can effectively identify the purpose of the novel – treating someone through any kind of abuse can leave them with long lasting pain, and memories that will haunt them forever.

Banned Books Week is an annual event starting on September 23 and ending on September 29 celebrating the freedom to read books freely no matter what topics are present throughout the book. The purpose of Banned Books Week is to bring the community together and express and seek ideas in books even if they are considered unorthodox. Throughout this celebratory week publishers, librarians, booksellers, journalists, teachers and more all celebrate the freedom to read and access information that they desire to explore. The outstanding novels by the names of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie are both banned books in many middle school and high

The United States of America is a land of freedom, a land of equality, and opportunity. We value independence and should look to exercise this in every form, as a nation. We must stay united and show respect to one another. This means we should not disregard ones ' ethnicity and culture, and use names in which are offensive towards their culture, in order to promote any sort of activity. This is aimed mainly at sports teams that carry racially inappropriate names. Couple teams that carry names that are very offensive to the natives are the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, and arguably the most popular of them all, the Washington Redskins. These teams carrying such names bring offense to all the native

Native Americans flourished in North America, but over time white settlers came and started invading their territory. Native Americans were constantly being thrown and pushed off their land. Sorrowfully this continued as the Americans looked for new opportunities and land in the West. When the whites came to the west, it changed the Native American’s lives forever. The Native Americans had to adapt to the whites, which was difficult for them. Also, the extinction of buffalo affected them negatively and the domination of the whites disrupted their surroundings. The Westward Expansion impacted the Native Americans land and culture.

The detrimental and unfair categorization of people by race, gender and more, commonly known as discrimination, affects many in society both mentally and emotionally. Many instances of this act of hatred occurred among Aboriginal and Native Canadians in the 20th century. However, for a little Native Indian boy stepping onto the rink, this is the norm that surrounds him. Saul Indian Horse, in Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse”, faces discrimination head on, where his strengths for hockey are limited by the racial discrimination from the surrounding white ethnicity. Consequently, this racism draws him into a mentally unstable state, where he suffers heavy consequences. Throughout the novel, prejudicial comments directed towards Saul inflict a major impact on him and his teammates by confining their abilities, thus leading him into a troublesome mental state of mind.

Junípero Serra has been decapitated, defaced, and became a saint all within a month’s time. He is surrounded by controversy. Many celebrated for he was the first Latino to become canonized. Rubén Mendoza of California State University of Monterey Bay explains, “Father Serra was not only a man of his time, he was a man ahead of his time in his advocacy for native people on the frontier.” However, Valentin Lopez who is the chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band explains that “Serra’s and the Church’s failure to learn form the teaching of Christ or from the life of St. Francis resulted in the complete extinction of many, many California tribes and great devastation for many others.”

The two main subjects of Annie Dillard’s “An American Childhood” are the author’s coming to terms with the intersection of race and opportunity, and her disappointment with fictional literature. 10-year-old Annie Dillard understands how gender and racial stereotypes play a huge role in her 5th-grade world. “I nevertheless imagined, perhaps from the authority and freedom of it, that its author was a man.” During the 1950s, males had more authority in their everyday life compared to women. For example, they are given power over women, they had better jobs than women and men and typically the men have a better education for more of them went to college. In the quote above, Dillard explains how she assumes since the voice has power, it is a male. She puts women into a category of powerless

Native Americans in Canadian society are constantly fighting an uphill battle.After having their identity taken away in Residential Schools.The backlash of the Residential Schools haunts them today with Native American people struggling in today 's society.Native Americans make up five percent of the Canadian population, yet nearly a quarter of the murder victims.The haunting memories of Residential Schools haunt many Native Americans to this day.With them commonly been known to attempt to drink away the horrors they have faced.Thomas King brings up these problems in his written work having written books like Medicine River and short stories such as Not The Indian I Had In Mind and Borders.Throughout these stories, Thomas King uses stereotypes such as will and Louise 's romance that seems like it 's going to become this generic love story yet becomes nothing more than just a friend with benefits to bring up the themes of Belonging, Performing Identity and Family issues.

Tompson Highways play, The Rez Sisters, illustrates the various challenges Native Canadians face within today’s society. The audience and readers of the play are able to learn and understand the numerous problems which exist on the Reserve including poverty, gambling, abuse and addiction. Perhaps one of the bigger challenges found however, is within each of the individual characters. There is a loss of identity which in turn, diminishes one’s tradition, language and culture. Identity is how you view yourself and your life. It helps to determine where you think you fit in, but is often influenced by our experiences, society and our culture.

In Chapter eight of Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians First Nation’s perspectives are explored. The case study titled “Language, Land and the Residential Schools” begins by speaking of a public apology from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He apologizes for the treatment of “Indians” in “Indian Residential Schools”. He highlights the initial agenda of these schools as he says that the “school system [was] to remove and isolate [Aboriginal] children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them[…]” (Williston 244). By doing this, colonial Canadians assumed that aboriginal cultural and spiritual beliefs were invalid in relation to European beliefs (244). The problem with ridding the First Nations Peoples of their languages, as Williston points out is to “deprive them of the sense of place that has defined them for thousands of years” (245). The private schooling system was an attack on First Nations identities, and their identity is rooted in “a respect for nature and its processes” (245).

The acclaimed Canadian author Joseph Boyden is often praised for providing an insightful look into Indigenous culture and history through his debut, Three Day Road. While the novel does explore the haunting memories of an Indigenous soldier, it also tackles concepts about storytelling and the power of words. Consequently, this essay investigates the question; How does Joseph Boyden use literary devices and narrative structure in Three Day Road to illustrate the power of stories and language?

When an individual experiences prejudice or a lack of connection to place it can diminish ones sense of identity, leading to social isolation and a loss of cultural practices and traditions.

Writer Sherman Alexie has a knack of intertwining his own problematic biographical experience with his unique stories and no more than “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” demonstrates that. Alexie laced a story about an Indian man living in Spokane who reflects back on his struggles in life from a previous relationship, alcoholism, racism and even the isolation he’s dealt with by living off the reservation. Alexie has the ability to use symbolism throughout his tale by associating the title’s infamy of two different ethnic characters and interlinking it with the narrator experience between trying to fit into a more society apart from his own cultural background. However, within the words themselves, Alexie has created themes that surround despair around his character however he illuminates on resilience and alcoholism throughout this tale.